Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting our Site. This Privacy Policy describes how SOPHIA protects your privacy when you use this Site.

Effective Date

This Privacy Policy is effective as of October 1, 2010.

Our Privacy Policy

At SOPHIA, we respect your privacy. So, except in unusual circumstances, we will not share your personal information more than is necessary to deliver this service. We may share your information with partner companies to operate our business (e.g. customer support, server host, etc.) However, we will require our partner companies to adhere to our privacy commitments to not sell or disclose your personal information unless required to do so by law.

Your Choices

We respect your right to make choices about the ways we collect, use, and share your Personal Information. We generally ask you to indicate your choices at the time and on the page where you provide your Personal Information. Depending on the nature of your choices and applicable law, we may also give you ways to change your privacy preferences.

If we provide a means for you to change your privacy preferences, you must give us enough information and a reasonable amount of time to process your request. Your new preferences will only apply prospectively. For example, if you give us permission to share your Personal Information with our affiliates and later withdraw your permission, you may still receive e-mail from one of our affiliates, if we shared your Personal Information before you withdrew your permission.

Privacy Notices

This Policy may be supplemented or amended from time to time by privacy notices (“Privacy Notices”) provided at the time we collect your personal information. For example, certain pages of this Site may contain Privacy Notices providing details about the personal information we collect on those pages, why we need that information, and choices you may have about the ways we use that information. Our Privacy Notices are part of this Policy.

Country-Specific Notices

Privacy requirements vary from country to country. To meet these requirements we may include certain “country-specific notices” as part of this Policy. If any of the terms of a country-specific notice are different than the general terms of this Policy, the terms of the country-specific notice will supplement or amend this Policy, but only to the extent that the laws of that country apply to the collection of Personal Information through this Site.

This Policy is Part of Our Terms of Use

This Policy is referenced in and is an integral part of the Terms of Use governing your use of this Site. Please take a few minutes to review our Terms of Use, if you have not already done so.

Your Consent to This Online Privacy Policy

By using this Site, you are consenting to the collection, use, and transfer of your Personal Information as described in this Policy (and any relevant Privacy Notice). If you do not consent to the collection, use and transfer of your Personal Information as described in this Policy (and any relevant Privacy Notice), you may not use this Site.

This Privacy Policy May Change

We reserve the right to update or modify this Policy and any Privacy Notice, at any time and without prior notice, by posting the revised version of this Policy or the Privacy Notice on this Site. If we modify this Policy or any Privacy Notice, the modifications will only apply to the Personal Information we collect after we have posted the revised Policy or Privacy Notice on this Site.

Your use of this Site following any such change constitutes your agreement that all information collected from or about you after the revised Policy or Privacy Notice is posted will be subject to the terms of the revised Policy or Privacy Notice. You may access the current version of this Policy at any time by clicking on the “Privacy” link at the bottom of each page of this Site. To alert you when we modify this Policy or any Privacy Notice, we will provide a notice at the top of this Policy or the relevant Privacy Notice for at least thirty days after the new effective date.

From time to time, for example, because of changes in the law or technology or the way we operate our business, we may ask your permission to use the Personal Information we have collected from you in the past in new or different ways. We will do this by sending you a notice by e-mail or postal mail at the last e-mail or postal address you provided to us, asking you to agree to the change. If you do not expressly agree to the change, we may, at our discretion, delete all or some of your Personal Information from our databases to avoid using your information in ways to which you have not consented.

Definitions

The term “Policy” refers to this online Privacy Policy.

The term Personal Information refers to information that identifies you personally, alone or in combination with other information available to us.

References to “this Site” refer to the Web site owned by SOPHIA and located at sophia.org.

The term User Generated Content refers to post tutorials, comments, questions, tests, notes, tutorials and other educational materials you post on or through this Site.

What Information Is Collected on this Site and How is it Used?

Information you knowingly and voluntarily provide. SOPHIA collects the information you knowingly and voluntarily provide when you use this Site. The information we collect depends on how you use this Site, but, in many cases, it will identify you personally. For example, if you register as a member, we collect the information you provide on the registration form, such as your name and e-mail address. Likewise, we collect the information you provide when you contact us with questions or comments. If you post User Generated Content or contribute to discussion boards on or through this Site, we collect that information also. In general, SOPHIA uses the Personal Information you volunteer to provide the information, services, and products you request. We may also use your contact information to follow up with you after you have expressed an interest in this Site or in one of our lessons, courses, programs, products, or services. Finally, we may use the Personal Information collected through this Site to improve our lessons, courses, programs, products, or services; to improve the content, functionality, navigation, and usability of this Site; to better understand your needs and interests; and to better market our programs, services, and products. We may also remove all the personally identifiable information and use the rest for historical, statistical, or scientific purposes.

Cookies and Similar Technologies. We use “cookies” and similar Web technologies to collect information and support certain features of this Site. A cookie is a piece of Web code that is used primarily for one or more of the following: analysis of Web site traffic and user behavior, application functionality, and data storage. We use two types of cookies: “session cookies” and “persistent cookies.” We use session cookies to assign a randomly generated unique identification number to your computer. Assigning your computer a number permits us to follow you as you move from page to page. A session cookies expires after you close your browser.

We use session cookies to collect statistical information about the ways you use this Site — which pages you visit, which links you use, and how long you stay on each page. We analyze this information (known as “clickstream data”) to better understand your interests and needs and to improve the content and functionality of this Site. Session cookies do not identify you personally. If, however, you are a registered member, we may link the information collected by our session cookies to information that identifies you personally.

We use persistent cookies (cookies that do not expire when you close your browser) for several purposes. Like session cookies, they are used to assign a unique identifier to your computer, but because they are persistent, they permit us to recognize your computer each time you use it to access this Site. By using persistent cookies, we can collect and analyze clickstream data from more than one visit to this Site. Cookies are also used to store information you have previously provided such as your login information that can be displayed back to you automatically each time you visit this Site. Persistent cookies remain on your computer until you delete them or until they expire. Expiration durations vary and are set by SOPHIA and/or our third-party service providers.

Finally, both types of cookies (persistent and session) are occasionally used to facilitate the proper functioning of our applications and features of this Site.

If you do not wish to receive cookies, you may set your browser to reject cookies or to alert you when a cookie is placed on your computer. Although you are not required to accept cookies when you visit this Site, you may be unable to use all of the functionality of this Site if your browser rejects our cookies.

How Does SOPHIA Share Your Personal Information?

We may share Personal Information collected through this Site with companies and organizations that perform certain functions on our behalf. For example, we may share such information with companies that provide support services to us or that help us improve and/or market our products and services. These third parties are required by contract to use the Personal Information we share with them only to perform services on our behalf and to treat your Personal Information as strictly confidential.

There are other limited circumstances in which we may share or transfer the Personal Information in our databases to unrelated third parties. For example, we may provide Personal Information to a third party to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to comply with a court order or subpoena; to comply with a legal requirement; to enforce a contract; to protect the rights, property, or safety of SOPHIA, our users or others; to protect your vital interests; or in connection with a corporate sale, purchase, merger, reorganization, liquidation, dissolution, or similar event. When we disclose information under these or similar circumstances, we will take appropriate steps to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

Finally, User Generated Content uploaded to this Site will be shared with other users of the Site. You should have no expectation of privacy with respect to User Generated Content you or others submit on or through this Site. You should not submit any User Generated Content on or through this Site unless you wish to make that information available to the general public, and you must take special care to make sure your posts comply with our Terms of Use. In particular, your posts must not violate the privacy or other rights of others.

If, at any time, you wish us to take down User Generated Content that contains your Personal Information, you may use the unpublish feature of the Site to discontinue general public access to such User Generated Content. Please be aware, however, that if the User Generated Content has already been distributed to other Web sites or published in other media, we will not be able to recapture and delete it.

Does SOPHIA Collect Personal Information From Children Through this Site?

SOPHIA does not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of thirteen through this Site. If you are under thirteen, please do not give us any information that identifies you personally. If you have reason to believe that your child has provided Personal Information to SOPHIA through this Site, please e-mail us at CustomerSupport@sophia.org and we will use reasonable efforts to delete that information from our databases.

What About Other Sites That May Be Linked To this Site?

This Site may contain links to Web sites that are owned and operated either by our service providers or by unrelated third parties. This Policy applies only to Personal Information collected on this Site. It does not apply to Personal Information collected on the Web sites of our service providers or other third parties. When you access another site, please take a few minutes to review the terms of use and privacy policy posted on that site.

How Can You Access and Correct Your Personal Information?

We strive to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the Personal Information in our databases. We provide ways for you to access your Personal Information as required by applicable law, so that you can correct inaccuracies or update your Personal Information. For example, if you register as a member on this Site, you may log in at any time and to update your account information.

We will respond to reasonable requests within the time limits established by applicable law or within a reasonable time if no time limit is established by applicable law. For your protection, we may ask you for additional information to verify your identity. In most cases, we will provide the access you request and correct or delete any inaccurate Personal Information you discover. In some cases, however, we may limit or deny your request if applicable law permits or requires us to do so. We generally do not charge for this service, however, we reserve the right to charge a fee as permitted by applicable law.

Retention of Personal Information

SOPHIA retains the Personal Information collected on this Site as long as necessary to provide the services, products, and information you request or as permitted by applicable law. Our servers are located in the United States. While it is in our possession, your Personal Information will generally be stored in SOPHIA databases or databases maintained by our service providers. Most, if not all, of these databases are stored on servers and storage devices located in the United States.

Information for Visitors Accessing this Site from Outside the United States

SOPHIA is a U.S. corporation headquartered in the United States. This Site is currently hosted on servers located in the United States, although we reserve the right to relocate this Site to other servers elsewhere in the world. Your Personal Information may be stored on servers located within the United States or in another country. In addition, we may transfer your Personal Information to our service providers and others located in the United States or another country for the purposes described in this Policy. Different countries have different privacy laws and requirements, and some provide less legal protection for your Personal Information than others. Please know, however, that no matter where your Personal Information is collected, used, transferred or stored, if it was collected through this Policy, it will be protected by the terms of this Policy and any Privacy Notices or other agreements that apply to you.

BY USING THIS SITE, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO THE COLLECTION, USE, AND TRANSFER OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES OR TO ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY.

Governing Law

SOPHIA is a U.S. corporation based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The servers that support this Site are located in the United States of America. This Policy shall be governed under the laws of the State of Minnesota, United States of America, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions.

Questions about this Policy or our Data Practices

All about ACE CREDIT®

The American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Credit Recommendation Service
(ACE CREDIT)® has evaluated and recommended college credit for
twenty nine
of SOPHIA's courses.
For more than 30 years, colleges and universities have trusted ACE CREDIT to provide reliable course equivalency information to facilitate their decisions to award academic credit.

All About DEAC CREDIT

The Distance Education Accreditation Commission (DEAC) has approved all 15 Sophia's courses for Approved Quality Curriculum (AQC) status. For more than 89 years, DEAC has operated as a national accreditor of distance education institutions and was the first to establish a distinctive process for evaluating curriculum offered outside of the traditional academic domain of higher education institutions. The DEAC is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education as a reliable authority on quality assessment of distance education.

Sophia's Credit Transfer Service

Transferman is ready to leap into action! At no cost to you, Transferman will use his superpowers to find out if your credits will transfer to the school of your choice. Just tell him the course or courses you'd like to take and your preferred school, and he'll get you an answer fast. How super is that?

Transfer Institution List

Sophia students have been pre-approved for credit transfer, or had their Sophia courses accepted for credit by the following institutions.
This list is not intended as a guarantee of transfer.
Schools accept credit transfer on a case-by-case basis and decisions may vary by student and specific degree plan.
We recommend you download the course syllabus and ask your school to review it for pre-approval of transfer credit.
Please contact the Sophia Learning Coaches for more information on credit transfer.